


The zebra

by orphan_account



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Caretaking, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Disability, Disabled Character, F/F, Medicine, Physical Therapy, Surgery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 07:11:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19970059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: At age 25 Emma  swans knee started to really hurt.  At 26 she started dislocating joints and started physical therapy.  At 27 she was diagnosed, finally, with ehlers danlos syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder.  She also met a very hot substitute physical therapist.  You know how it goes from there.Or do you??





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, full disclosure this is my first time writing fanfiction, and I have no beta, so I make no promises, but I do know a shit ton about EDS and comorbidities, so that should help me some.

"Okay, Emma, it is very likely you have a condition called Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome. This is what is causing you all these problems. Right now we dont know the genetic marker for it, but it is still there and valid. This is one of a lot of different Ehlers Danlos syndromes which are connective tissue disorders. They make it so your body doesnt produce collagen the way it should which causes your joints to not stay in place the same way. Out of all of the types of EDS, hEDS is the least severe, but it is the most painful. You're going to need to have an echocardiogram to check for the cardiac comorbidities, and you're going to need to continue physical therapy. That is really all I can do to help, but I can answer any questions you might have"

Emma Swan was in shock. She had gone to the doctor for a routine checkup just a few months ago, and she told her that she was hypermobile and asked if Emma experienced any joint pain. After explaining that she was always in pain her doctor immediately sent her a recommendation for physical therapy, and to a rheumatologist, who sent her to a geneticist. 5 months after the initial checkup here she is: being told she has a rare disorder that has no cure. She asked the doctor about other things that could go wrong and he brought up postural orthostatic tachycardia, or POTS. This is a condition caused by your brain not being able to get enough blood when you're standing up. When she heard that this tends to make people dizzy she looked at the doctor and said, "wait- is that why I get super dizzy when I stand up?" And was then set on track for a diagnosis of POTS with a tilt table test.

On Tuesday when Emma got to physical therapy she went back to the gym and looked around and didnt see Mary Margaret, her usual therapist. She felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around and behind her was a shockingly beautiful woman. The woman said "hi, are you emma swan?"

Emma stuttered and was flustered as to why this woman knew her name and asked "uh yeah, why? Who are you?"

"I am Regina Mills, I will be subbing in for Marry Margaret while she is out sick today"

"Oh... okay, is she okay?"

"Oh, yes, of course, she just has the flu"

"Oh, okay" and then Emma had no idea what to do, Mary Margaret usually had her warm up on a bike for a few minutes before she worked on her hip strength, but she didnt know what this new woman would do.

After a few moments of awkwardly standing there, Regina said "okay, would you follow me, please?" And lead her over to one of the bench like beds. "Okay, what are the excercises she has you doing?"

"A lot of proprioception stuff right now, I just got diagnosed with EDS and that is one of the things that is supposed to help us a lot"

"Oh, really? That is quite rare! I've never met or treated a zebra before" Regina said, a little surprised "how were you working on that?"

"Yeah, I found out last weekend, what do you mean, 'zebra'" Emma said stuffing her hands in her back pockets "we were using a laser attached to my arm to trace stuff"

"A zebra is the term used for people with EDS, it refers to the expression in the medical community 'when you hear hoofbeats think horses not zebras' because sometimes there are zebras. Anyway..." regina said as if she forgot what she was saying "oh! I will go get that laser"

The rest of the session went on without a hitch, although there was some casual flirting. That night Emma lay in bed contemplating the day and thinking over what had happened.

Had that new hot PT been flirting with her? Had she been flirting back? Was she attracted to her? Wait... was Emma Swan gay?

After thinking long and hard, Emma remembered how she felt about Lily. Maybe she was bisexual? But she definitely did like Regina. But would she ever see her again?

The next time she was at PT Mary Margaret was back, why was Emma so disappointed? She updated her on everything that was happening and asked about Regina. Mary Margaret said "oh, Regina? I hate her. She just is so cold and rude!" But Emma thought back to the warmth that Regina had treated her with.

"Do you have her phone number or anything? She said something to me that was important and I can't remember what it was" emma came up with the feble lie, but it seemed to work. "Sure, here it is!" Mary Margaret said to her and showed Emma the contact on her phone which Emma copied onto her own.

"Thank you so much! Okay, I'll see you next week, right?" Emma said as she left. Mary Margaret looked at her leaving, weirdly happy.

Later that day Emma texted Regina "hi, Regina, this is Emma Swan, you were my substitute physical therapist on Tuesday. I got your phone number from Mary Margaret. I know this is kinda weird, but I'm not actually your patient, and I was wondering if you would like to get drinks with me sometime?"and then sat there watching the screen until she realized it was late and Regina was probably asleep, so she tried to do the same.

The next morning she checked her phone at 6 when she woke up and saw no reply, so she got up to continue with the rest of her day. Then she passed out.

She woke up on the floor of her apartment with a horrible pain in her right shoulder where she had fallen, and decided to go call in sick from her job as the Sheriffs office and let David deal with it for one day and go to the ER.

When she got there they asked her what happened and she said "I woke up and then got up and then I passed out and fell, and now my shoulder hurts like hell to move and I have an awful headache". They looked at her arm and saw that it looked dislocated so they took an X-ray, and then put it back, and then drew blood to see what had made her pass out. They couldn't find anything wrong, so they asked about the shoulder.

"So you said you passed out, and fell and that dislocated your shoulder. Do you have any history of this happening?" The intern asked "No, although I do have EDS, could that have been the problem?" The two doctors looked at each other and almost smiled and then realized that they were, and then stopped.

"Yeah, that can cause it, your body isnt holding your joints in as well as it should. Do you know if you have POTS?" The resident asked Emma thought on that for a minute and then replied "yeah, I think so, I think the geneticist wanted me to get tested for it. Could that be what caused this?" "It could. Let's get you on some IV fluids and then talk about testing you for POTS. Sound good?" The resident said and walked away leaving Emma to think 'oh shit! IV fluids? Testing for something else? God what is wrong with me?' A nurse came back to give her the fluids and after trying repeatedly to poke her she said "wow, you're a really hard stick!" She got it a few tries later. The doctor came back after a while to ask her if she would be able to take the tilt table test first thing in the morning, an amazing deal because this kind of thing takes months. Emma agreed and was instructed to not eat or drink after midnight and be there by 8 the next morning.

She got there, checked in, and was given another peripheral IV for fluids afterwords. Then she was hooked up to an EKG machine, and strapped onto a flat table. The man performing the test came in and explained to her "okay, Ms. Swan, there is nothing to worry about. All we're going to do is take your heart rate and blood pressure lying down, at an angle, and then in an almost standing position. If it changes we'll give you this medicine which might make you feel slightly light headed" and so that is what happened. Except it took a really long time and when she took the meds she passed out. It was not fun, but they told her that the most likely reason for her POTS was because of the EDS, her vessels in her legs arent able to constrict enough to push the blood back to her heart and brain making her pass out. This can be treated with IV fluids, so that was what they were going to do. The doctors prescribed her 2 liters of IV fluids a day 2 days a week, and a nurse who would administer them via peripheral IV. the gave her extra fluids and then discharged her. When she got home, she saw a text from Regina from that morning:

"Emma, I am sorry, but you are my patient and I cannot go drinking with you"

Emma replied "but you arent my PT, Mary Margaret is. You just subbed for her"

Regina: okay, how about friday, the bar on Tremont, 9 o'clock

Emma: okay, sounds good! I cant wait!

Regina: ;) Emma: why is Voldemort winking at me?

Regina: what?

Emma: there is no nose! It's like Voldemort!

Regina: how's this ;-)

Emma: better. Although it still lowkey looks creepy

Regina: oh shut up!

Emma: "shut up"? That doesn't sound like something you'd say

Regina: no. No it doesnt. It is getting late, I am going to bed. See you Friday.

Emma: okay, see you then!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got a few messages saying that it was hard to read because of the paragraphs, it must have not translated right from my phone, so I got these done, and I will do the rest tomorrow because it is 8 o'clock so I need to go to bed  
> lol spoonie problems  
> please message me with mistakes and stuff because I will fix them


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I dont have anymore written, so it will be longer until the next update, but it was just really sad and short so I had to put this in

Emma woke up Friday excited. This was her first day of IV fluids and then her date with Regina. She got up and got ready for work, went to work, slow day, and then when she got home she had some cheezits. Then she heard a knock on the door and went to get it, and it was the nurse. She let him in and he set up the pump and IV bag and asked if Emma had a pole. Emma had never thought of that, so she answered no and the nurse just rolled his eyes at her. He ended up using a coat hanger and just making her stay on her bed for the whole time, showed her how to disconnect fluids, how to take it out, stressed how she MUST wear gloves, and then left her to finish the second bag. After it was done, it was already 8 and she had to get ready.  
She grabbed her leather jacket, shaved her legs, put on a tank top, and got out the door just in time... to be 5 minutes late. When she got there she immediately spotted Regina sitting at the bar and walked over to her, and sat down next to her. Regina looked up and just stared at Emma for a minute, looking her up and down in a way that would make her uncomfortable if it were anyone else, but this just made her feel good. They ordered drinks and went over to a booth in the corner  
"Em-ma?"  
"Uh... yeah?" Emma said stunned at how hot the women's voice was  
"Are you a drug addict?"  
"WHAT?!" Emma yelled "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU THINK THAT??"  
"Well, you've been scratching at your arm subconsciously since you got here like a junkie" regina stated, her voice calm as ever  
"Oh... that is reasonable, sorry for shouting at you. I had an IV about an hour ago and the site is still itchy from it"  
"An IV? why?? Are you okay?" Regina seemed much more worried than either of them expected.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just fluids, I passed out a few days ago and have to get IV fluids for my POTS now twice a week" emma explained calmly, but Regina just kept staring at her, terrified.  
"Oh, okay" They talked for what felt like minutes, but then the bar was calling last call, and they were inches apart and neither noticed. "Um... okay, so there are 3 ways I can see this ending: we go have a one night stand, we go our separate ways and never see each other again" emma's face was falling with each passing second, "or we go our separate ways, but see each other again, for a true date" and Emma grinned "I like the last one best, and I would say judging by your grin right now, so do you, emma"  
"Yep. Definitely. 100%. Okay, I like that plan" "Although... would we maybe be able to" emma paused for a second and then said quickly "maybe make out in the car?"  
"Hmmmm" regina hummed " as amazing as that sounds, I think that's for another night" and then softly kissed her, just for a second.  
Emma opened her eyes to see regina smiling at her and then saying "I think you should get a cab" and left.  
That night when Emma got home she saw a text  
Regina: I had a good time tonight!  
Emma: me too! Regina: would you like to do it again sometime?  
Emma: FUCK YEAH!  
Regina: I love the enthusiasm, but must you be so crass?  
Emma: this is what happens when you get me drunk ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
Regina: well, maybe I will do it again  
Emma: tell me when and where and I'll be there!  
Regina: Tiana's Bakery, sunday at 2?  
Regina: you free?  
Emma: HELL YEAH! I love that place so much!  
Regina: see you there!  
Emma: can't wait  
On Saturday Emma woke up smiling. She had had a wonderful time with Regina at the bar, and had absolutely nothing to do that day, so she decided to watch TV. She spent the day watching Grey's Anatomy season 8. She got about halfway through the season before she had to go get dinner and she had nothing in the house, so she went to the supermarket and got some food, but walking back to her car, she felt her arm shift and then she was in insane amounts of pain. She looked at it and realized it was dislocated again, so not wanting to go to the doctors again, she thought it through: when she had been there she had seen what they had done, so she repeated that motion, and it went in extremely painfully. She got into her car and pulled out her phone to figure out why she could do that. After looking at a bunch of blogs, she saw the answer: it went out easy, it go in easy. Weirdly simple for such a complex thing, so she put it back in. It hurt like hell, but it was better than spending hours in the ED.  
The next day she got ready for her date with Regina and boy was she excited. She got there right on time to see Regina waiting. She went up to her and went to kiss her cheek, but Regina tried to do the same thing, and they ended up kissing. It was nice, although awkward, but it came to an abrupt end when some jackass cat called them.  
They got their beignets and then took them to the park where they sat, and talked about whatever came to mind, until Emma mentioned what had happened the day before. Regina looked at her shoulder and asked to feel it and so she moved around Emma's arm and then said to her "wow you did a good job with that". The strangest complement on putting ones own shoulder back in place after going grocery shopping.  
"Uh... thanks?"  
"That is a complement, reducing a dislocation is hard, but doing it on yourself is amazing" and then Regina kissed Emma again, and it tasted like Regina's perfume and beignets and it was soft and just amazing.  
"You're amazing" And Emma just smiled. No, grinned.  
"I look like a goddamn idiot" emma said quietly, still an inch away from Regina  
"Why"  
"Because I just can't stop fucking smiling!"  
"Would this help?" And Regina kissed her again. It was amazing, her lips were so amazingly soft and it was the best feeling in the world. Maybe better than sex. Scratch that better than straight sex. And when she pulled away, neither of them could stop smiling.  
They continued to eat in comforting silence until Emma said "so, what is your actual job?"  
"I work at the hospital in the orthopedic surgery wing doing rehab for post OP people" regina explained, "but when they said Mary Margaret was out and asked me to sub in, I did that for a day"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also dont try to put in a dislocation unless you actually know what you're doing, like I do it constantly, but because of that it is insanely easy, but I still learned from the proper places, don't just be a healthy person who dislocates a shoulder and just google "how to reduce a dislocated shoulder". it will end up damaging you more


End file.
